Donor Declaration
by LilyGhost
Summary: Stephanie makes a life-altering decision or two that everyone in her world supports except for the predicted one.


**Everybody and anything familiar belongs to Janet. The mistakes are mine alone.**

"You don't have to do this, Babe."

I took his hands in both of mine and squeezed with everything in me. Luckily, Batman is a freakin' super man and didn't wince under the force of my wanting him to feel better. I doubt he even felt it with his current concern for me. Saying 'it's no big deal' to someone who doesn't agree with you on that, doesn't ease either of our minds.

"I _do _have to do this," I told him, my voice dropping even lower so the guys who 'escorted' us here wouldn't overhear too much of our discussion. "If I'm a perfect match to get your Aunt back to her usual fun-loving, eye-rolling, less-doctor-needing self, I'm going to do it. Not only because I love you, but because I love _her ... _and also everybody else in your family. I'm seeing this as a way to give back to all of you who have given me too many reasons to list why I'm so happy to be me. Given your chosen professions, you're familiar with how I view my role in this ... I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do _something_. If my cells can kick her blood cancer's ass, I'm giving them the opportunity to."

There's a faint grin lurking behind the full lips that definitely aren't smiling right now. "Way to hit a man where it hurts," he said, with the barest hint of teasing wrapped around his words.

I curled my arms around him and put the full-length of my body into the hug I gave him. "I never want to hurt you. That's why I didn't tell you that I went with your Mom, so my car wouldn't be tracked, to get my cheek swabbed for a little game of bone marrow match-up. I knew you'd be torn between wanting desperately to save your Aunt, but also protect me and every inch of my body. You would've been mad if you somehow found out, but I wasn't going to tell you anything about what I did if I ended up being a dud."

"But you turned out to be a better match than anyone in my family," he pointed out. "Myself included."

"Yeah. I'm taking that as a medically-proven sign that I'm supposed to be a Manoso. I mean, some of _me _will actually be living inside the body of your Dad's big sis. Blood may be thicker than water, but shared stem cells should at least tie it."

He went quiet in a way that worried me. "I love you, Stephanie," he said after a few tense beats.

"I know. I can honestly say not at one point during our friendship into our relationship have I ever doubted it. And I hope you know that I'll always love you more just for believing that I was worth sticking around for. You could've closed up shop and headed to any part of the world, or just another Rangeman building, but thanks to Celia I know you stayed in Trenton for me."

"Not only do I believe you're _everything _to me, I'm going to make us official once this procedure is completely over with."

That had me pulling back so I could see his face. "What do you mean?"

"If you're willing to physically give part of yourself away to a Manoso, it's time you legally become one. You've got a week to plan how you want us to accomplish it."

I did a solid set of six blinks as I stared at him. "You're serious? You want to marry me?"

"Yes. As you'll recall, I've repeatedly mentioned us being married or getting our someday."

"Yeah, but I always thought you were kidding or just trying to scare me."

"It wasn't either one of those. _Are _you scared?"

"About the needles headed my way, _yes_. Of becoming Stephanie - maybe Plum - Manoso? Oddly, _no_."

"That's all I need to hear. I'll get you through the first of the handful of shots needed, and then through the rest of them and the actual blood cell donation. Right after, we'll make a ceremony happen."

"You'll hold my hand through each of the injections?"

"I pity the surviving family of those who would attempt to keep me away from you," he told me.

I smiled and resumed the hug I'd subjected him to earlier. "Thank you. I really don't deserve you."

"No, you deserve far better."

"You okay?" Tank asked me.

He's the only one brave enough to intrude on our semi-private moment together.

"Yup. Ranger said he'd hold my hand during every needle jab and not make fun of me at all for acting like a wuss when it comes to them. I think I'm ready for this process to begin."

"Thank you for going through with this," Tank said to me. For once his eyes didn't dart away from mine. "Ranger's family has been the one I never had. This past year's been a bitch for everyone involved. You know this from being Ranger's woman, feeling powerless isn't something we handle well. We're trained to take out every enemy that poses a threat to those we love. We _are not _equipped to sit on our asses and watch someone else battle something we can't even see, let alone destroy for our own Aunt Messy."

"I can't help it, I'm going to say it again ... I _LOVE _that a 'Messy Manoso' actually exists in my world. But uh-uh, Tank. I got through Ranger's feelings on this without sobbing, you _will not _break the streak. It really is nothing, just a few injections before a double-arm catheter hookup. If a _harvest_/harvest was needed, that would've been just two needles jabbed into a different area, my hip bones. I was all-too-awake when I got shot in the ass and I lived to turn red over retelling that tale. I could get through even having my bones tapped while knocked out without whining too much if I had to."

Not that I actually would pat myself on the back for just doing the right thing, I wasn't allowed to bask in my supposed selflessness. My neck happily - and pretty sexily - tingles whenever Ranger is near me, but my shoulders automatically hunch in self-defense when my mother is within screeching distance. And unfortunately for me, my neck suddenly disappeared as my shoulders tried to meet my ears. I knew she'd found about this before I actually heard her voice. _Stupid Burg grapevine!_ One of these days, I'm going to ask Ranger to ask Vince to investigate how many patient privacy laws have been violated when it comes to my various hospital visits over the years.

"_Stephanie! What in God's name are you thinking_?!" She said, only a millisecond after stepping off the elevator and spotting the Range-cluster we'd formed in the waiting area of the hospital. "Don't you dare try to hide from me behind those men. I can see you over there. You know good and well that this is something you do _for family_, not _those people_."

I turned to Ranger, as something dawned on me. "So _this _is why Cal, Bobby, Hal, and Hector came in behind Tank. They aren't here to offer moral support or be a boost to my morale, but to provide me protection and a buffer from my mother?"

"That was a part of it. The main reason is they are impressed as hell with you for doing this. That it's for someone extremely important to me has all the men feeling extra 'supportive'."

"I love you guys for wanting to form a barrier between me and the rest of the world, but I promise that I've got this," I told the wall of muscled-backs I'm suddenly looking at. "I'm not changing my mind about being a donor. And I'm also not letting my mother upset me today. It's okay to part the Rangeman sea for me."

I took Ranger's hand and waded through our black-clad brigade just to make sure none of the guys will shoot first and have to answer questions later.

"I sure as hell agree with one part of that unwanted outburst, Mom," I said, cutting her off before she could start in on my guys for supporting me, "this _is _something that I'll do for family. And the Manosos have been more of a family to me than the DNA-only one I'd been stuck with before them."

"You don't know what you're saying, Stephanie. How could you not tell your own mother that you were considering doing something like this? This is too big not to have been discussed with your father and I first."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to have another frustrating conversation like this one. You always tell me that I need to grow up and start 'behaving like an adult'. Well, guess what? I have. I've graduated to being a full-fledged grown-up. And I realized that _I'm _the _only one _in charge of myself, my thoughts, my actions, and my body. My mommy and daddy don't need to be consulted. One result of you always trying to drive the '_I need to start using my head_' point home is _you're _also not getting a say in how I live my life. _Congratulations, _you got what you've said you wanted. Now I'm _always _thinking about the consequences of what I do or who I listen to. So you've lost the ability to manipulate or guilt me into doing what you think I should. I can see your angle before you even finish forming your 'How do I make Stephanie do what I want?' plan."

Her mouth dropped open for a full ten seconds before she snapped it shut and promptly thinned her lips. "What have they given you so far? This doesn't sound at all like the Stephanie Plum I know."

"I haven't been given any mind-altering drugs if that's what you're suggesting. I've had a physical and a blood draw to make sure _my body's _healthy. What I just said to you was to keep _my head _just as healthy as the rest of me. I'm not the daughter you wanted, I get it and I've accepted it. Now _you _have to get that I'm over trying to be. Go back to the Burg, Mom. Nothing you say or scream is going to change what I do today or over the course of the coming week. Tank, can you walk my mom to her car? I wouldn't want anything to happen to her when she's clearly upset."

My mother froze. "What do you mean by that, Stephanie? Did you just imply that this man should harm me if I don't quietly go away?"

I sighed. When it comes to my mother, there are no steps forward ... only gigantic leaps back.

"No, Mom. Despite you treating me and those I love like crap, I honestly don't want anything bad to happen to you. It's sad that you automatically see _a motive _or _a threat_, not _a genuine feeling_. I really wish you could be a little more like me. You'd be a helluva lot happier. I'm ready to get this show and my shots on the road," I told Ranger.

"Proud of you, Babe."

"I am too," I replied.

Knowing that he's had such a positive influence on me will lessen his tension about watching me go through this. He once joked about me just needing a Band-Aid when I'd been shot, but now that I know the actual living, breathing, loving man behind the myth ... I see, feel, and understand how hard it is for him to watch anyone he loves be in pain, even if it's only a quick wince from the business end of a syringe.

As promised, Ranger got me to - and through - each of the shots I needed to give my stem cells superpowers. Then it was go-time. I felt a bit of relief from knowing that only my arms, and not two needles to the backs of my pelvic bones, were needed for this. And a hazy four maybe six hours later, with the two tubes - one draining blood from my body, and the other returning it minus some cells - already removed, I felt a bit tired and a little light-headed, but also more on the same playing field as Ranger.

Turns out there are many ways to save a life ... having someone's back while on a battlefield, responding immediately to a break-in call and apprehending an a-hole before he can take more than just cash, or donating blood by-products to those who need help in making their own life-juice healthier. I hope like hell that just lounging around on a hospital bed for a few hours will put an end to this crappy-feeling chapter in my almost in-Aunt's life. She has too much left to live to be chained to almost-daily blood level checks and bi-monthly hospital stays for health tune-ups.

I was kept in the hospital room until I could prove that I'm normal, from a physical standpoint at least, given a snack, and then the boot about an hour after being hugged, cheek-squeezed, or kissed, by every one on both the paternal and maternal sides of Ranger's family. That kind of appreciation is really nice though it made me feel like I've done more than I did, but that actually paled in comparison to how Ranger, without saying a thing, just wrapped his arms around me in the elevator and hung on until the doors opened again on the ground floor. I knew it had nothing to do with him believing I'd fall without the death-grip he had on me.

The following morning, I woke up to find that I was completely surrounded by his body. When he can't protect me from real life, he literally and physically tries to keep watch over me in my dreams.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, sounding like he's been wide awake for hours.

Being Ranger, it's entirely possible that he hasn't slept yet.

"I'm good. I can't say having _any type _of catheter hooked up to me, and being forced to stay still when I'm not sleeping or elbow-deep in a birthday cake, is my new hobby, but I'd do it all over again if it'll help someone."

"You're an incredible woman, Stephanie."

I turned into him and proceeded to curl my body into his. "I'm glad at least you think so."

He pressed a kiss to my lips. "My opinion of you is the only one that matters after your own."

I grinned into his skin. "Says you."

"And you believe me," he stated.

"I do."

"I couldn't have asked for a better segue than that one. Do you have plans tomorrow morning?"

I thought about it. "How early are we talking?"

"Immediately after an early breakfast."

"So far, I'm only due to get caught up on the reports you think everyone needs to fill out and then file on every douchebag we capture."

"Good. That's something you'll be happy to put off for awhile."

"And do what instead?" I asked, with more than a little wariness in my tone.

"Marry me."

"Ummm, was that a question, an order, or a bribe that you know I'll agree to just so I can get out of paperwork hell?"

"Does it matter?"

"Nope."

"It's all three. We really should've done it as soon as we got together, but I can admit that the timing of this feels right for right now. You potentially saving Aunt Messina's life as we embark on a married version of ours."

"Okay," I said pretending to consider his words carefully. "'_Yes'_ to the 'Marry Me' question. '_You're lucky I love you and do want to marry you, or I'd attempt to punch you for trying to tell me what to do_' is my response to your 'order'. And last but definitely the least important out of the three ... you know I'll do anything to get out of a boring cubby job, even call Mary Lou after you and I do a honeymoon test run or two and ask her to help me find something that'll have you looking forward to getting me out of it the minute we're married."

"I'll want you naked even more than usual the moment you accept me as your husband and my name as yours."

He had been dead serious, as well as heart-meltingly honest. All it took to completely change my life and my name, was a call from Ranger to one of his legal contacts, me waking up and getting dressed up before nine AM, and both of us repeating what our wedding officiant told us to as we wedding-ringed each other.

I got the deluxe model on that front, a diamond the size of my thumbnail sandwiched between a complementary platinum wedding band and a more elaborate antique ring of Aunt Messy's that she insisted he give me on our wedding day. Ranger seemed pleased with the simple platinum band I got him, but that's likely due to me asking the jeweler to engrave "_Property Of My Babe_" on the inside of it. That hell of a first married kiss definitely didn't have me questioning the benefits of being his wife. Ranger has already made me a firm believer in marital bliss.

I hate that Aunt Messina, my quad-partner in crime with Mary Lou and Grandma Mazur, making a full recovery isn't a sure bet yet, but mine and Ranger's future together has officially been predetermined.


End file.
